Take a Picture
by Sabrosa
Summary: Ryoma notices a certain tensai watching him quite...frequently. [FujiRyo]
1. Chapter

**Author's Note** – We all know that I don't own PoT, so aside from this disclaimer; I don't believe that I will post anymore of them anytime in the future.

**Take a Picture**

**One**

What was probably most unfamiliar at the moment was definitely not the three freshmen tennis players that had stood on the sidelines, gawking like fish, only to later attempt to re-Velcro themselves to his side. It was not the two fan club girls waiting outside for him; one nervous and red faced while the other shrieked her undying love. It was not the blasphemous heat that seemed to render his skin down to butter, nor was it when the energetic red-haired senpai glomped him in the locker room, or when his tall spiky-haired sidekick attempted to give him a noogie. No, none of this was unfamiliar territory to Echizen Ryoma, and if it was, he just chose to ignore it. Instead, what _did _appear unfamiliar at the moment were the random odd stares that a certain blue-eyed tennis genius would blaze in his direction every five minutes. Normally, Ryoma wouldn't have even noticed, nor cared for that matter, except that the older boy wasn't even _trying_ to be discreet about his staring. In fact, whenever Ryoma's gaze happened to meet with his senpai's, for a brief second, the blue eyes would gleam strangely and a smirk would grace his face. Then it would all be over. The older boy's face would return to its original passive smiling self, leaving the younger boy to wonder if he was imagining things. Except that, after the fourth occurrence of this, Ryoma finally came to the conclusion that this was more than just coincidence and decided to do the only thing that he could do: confront the situation. He shut his locker, gathered his equipment, and walked over to stand in front of the light-haired boy who currently seemed absorbed with tying his shoes.

"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma called out. Fuji stopped in mid looping at the sound of the freshman's deadpan voice. He looked up from the bench that he was sitting on.

"Yes Echizen?" he answered, his closed-eyed expression mild.

Ryoma decided that getting straight to the point was best when dealing with this particular senpai. "What do you want?"

Fuji only stared at the younger boy for a moment before tilting his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You keep looking at me," was Ryoma's monotonous response.

"Oh, am I?" Fuji asked innocently, his lips beginning to twitch in what looked suspiciously like the beginnings of a smile.

Ryoma didn't blink an eye. "Yes."

Fuji's lips stopped twitching and began to curve into a real smile this time...with teeth and all. "Is there something wrong with looking at a teammate?" he asked serenely.

It was Ryoma's turn to stare. He couldn't decide whether he should feel freaked out by the older boy's staring, or if he should just ignore it. After a few more moments of thoughtful contemplation, he decided on the latter.

"Hmmm…" the freshman mused and calmly slung his racket bag over his shoulder. He turned to walk out of the locker room only to be waylaid by Momo and Eiji.

"Hey kiddo, let's go grab a burger!" Eiji shouted happily, draping himself over half of a suddenly grumpy Ryoma.

"Yeah Echizen, let's go!" Momo parroted, draping himself over the other half of a suddenly even grumpier Ryoma. He leaned in close to the younger boy's ear, "And it'll be senpai's treat," he said in a mock whisper. At this, the freshman suddenly wasn't so grumpy anymore. He, along with Momo, eyed their red-headed senpai with an evil grin.

"Ehhh! No fair!" Eiji squawked. Momo laughed obnoxiously while slapping the drooping redhead on the back. Ryoma followed wordlessly, not noticing the blue eyes trailing behind him, burning a hole right through the back of his school uniform.

* * *

Ryoma could feel it again. He could feel his senpai studying him. As if he were a bug…or an object…made for amusement or something. Not used to being subjected to such scrutiny, Ryoma failed to notice that, in the first place, having Fuji accompany him during lunch was an oddity in itself. At this point, he was only aware that the initial feeling of unfamiliarity he felt when the staring had first begun was slowly being replaced by something else. As he ate his lunch, he contemplated whether or not this new feeling was something that could be tolerated or if rather it would be best to confront and control the situation once more. Again, he decided on the latter.

He turned to face his instigator who was sitting cross-legged underneath one of the large sakura trees in the school yard. Unsurprisingly enough, he was being stared at by said instigator. Well, at least as much as one could be stared at when their admirer had their eyes closed.

"Fuji-senpai."

Fuji smiled at the sound of his name. "Yes Echizen?"

Ryoma blindly focused on something to his right while chewing on a bite of rice. He slowly swallowed his mouthful and turned back to face Fuji, only to be greeted by open blue eyes. If the receiver had been anyone other than Ryoma, it would have been unnerving to have such a blatant, penetrating gaze linger on them. The two tennis players stayed like that for what seemed like forever until Ryoma finally decided to break the silence.

"You're staring at me again," he commented, all the while seemingly unaware of the thickness in the air. Fuji's eyes closed again and his smile grew wider.

"Ah, is that so?"

Ryoma studied the serene face. "Why?" he asked bluntly.

Fuji only continued to stare at him. Ryoma began to think that his senpai was going to ignore the question and didn't know whether he should feel offended or not by the other's lack of response. He then became aware of the actual situation of having Fuji sit next to him during the lunch period. Ryoma didn't think he liked this very much. There were too many unexpected things happening too quickly all at once. First the staring and now socializing outside of tennis practice. If it had been Momo sitting there with him underneath that tree, Ryoma wouldn't have given it a second thought. But Fuji wasn't Momo. This in turn led to the realization that Momo wasn't even there. And on top of all of the other weird things that were happening, and the weird feelings that he was feeling, Ryoma now had the puzzlement of wondering why the idiotic oaf wasn't anywhere in sight.

"I don't have my camera with me." The soft reply eased its way through Ryoma's scattered thoughts…only to create more scattered thoughts.

"…"

"Hey! Echizen!" At the sound of Momo's interruption, Ryoma let out the lungful of air he had unconsciously been holding in. He looked over to see the tall dark-haired junior jogging toward them with an armful of bread and a grin on his face. When he finally reached the two, he took a seat on the ground next to Ryoma, making sure that he didn't lose his grip on any of the food.

"Fuji-senpai," Momo bowed his head quickly, greeting the older boy respectfully. After receiving Fuji's welcoming nod, he continued, "Phew! Talk about a loooong line. For some reason, everyone decided to cut in front of me today! Nobody ever cuts in front of me! And the really strange thing is that after about twenty minutes or so, everyone just disappeared. People that had been in line forever just decided to step out of line and let me pass. How bizarre, so very bizarre," Momo murmured to himself before turning to Ryoma with a sly grin. The younger boy inwardly cringed at the spontaneous mood change in the other.

"So, what's this I hear about you giving the Grandma Coach's granddaughter and her friend tennis lessons?"

Ryoma shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I just sat and watched them hit some balls against a wall."

Momo leaned in closer, his grin turning into a leer.

"Oh come on Echizen…tell me everything that happened.

"No, there's nothing to tell," Ryoma muttered.

"Come onnn…you can tell me the truth."

"No."

"Oh come onnn Echizen …you can tell me!"

"No, and stop peer pressuring me."

"Come onnn…Echizen-_kun_."

"No means no."

Momo leaned back with a slightly annoyed expression at the freshman's stubbornness.

"Hmph, you should listen to your senpai," he grumbled, studying the younger boy with exasperation. None of the three boys said a word until Momo's face suddenly lightened with another leer plastered on his face.

"You did more than teach her about tennis didn't you?"

Against his will Ryoma felt his face heat up. Not so much from the wording that the junior chose, but more rather from the suggestive tone of his voice.

Momo sighed wistfully, "It's so good to be young…so very good to be young."

He sat with a triumphant expression on his face while waiting for the younger boy's response. Unfortunately for him though, his statement was forgotten when Fuji abruptly stood, causing a startled Momo and Ryoma to look up at him. Fuji looked at Ryoma with an indecipherable expression after bending down to gather up his things.

"Well…I should be going," he said softly. In confusion, both boys watched the tennis genius slowly walk away.

* * *

Lighting, followed closely by deafening thunder, cut through the darkened sky. The rain didn't look as if it were going to let up anytime soon. Tennis practice had been cut short due to the weather and the school grounds, save three, were now void of people. Hidden beneath one of the overgrown sakura trees near the courts, Ryoma took this quiet opportunity to collect his thoughts. His arms hung at his sides while his racket was held loosely in his left hand. He was tired. After all of that running and that unexpected match between the regulars, he was more than tired, he was exhausted. But despite the running and the constant wall that he had encountered every time he'd tried a smash, he couldn't help but feel that tingling excitement that came with confronting something supposedly impossible. And once he had broken the impossible, he had felt incredible, and yet…even after all of that, Ryoma had felt very annoyed.

_The tennis genius studied him thoughtfully as he fixed the strings on his racket. For reasons that he didn't fully understand, Ryoma was beginning to feel somewhat irritated with his senpai's mild expression. He paused in the middle of his string adjustments._

"_What are you looking at?"_

_Even though the bill on Ryoma's cap shaded the top half of his face, Fuji's eyes never strayed from the other's form._

"…_Nothing in particular."_

_This guy is really strong…but he has more skill than actual physical strength._

"_You can't beat me just yet, Echizen."_

Ryoma wasn't stupid. He might not have been the brightest crayon in the box where certain matters were concerned, but when it came to those on the tennis court, he was a genius whose skills could rival some of the best. Although he had sealed the Higuma Otoshi, he knew…

"_You're amazing, Echizen-kun."_

His senpai had been holding back.

Ryoma's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he noticed Tezuka and Fuji finally emerge from the locker room. Together. He didn't know why, but he felt something at the sight of his captain walking next to the tennis genius. Since he wasn't even sure what exactly his feelings were at that moment, he decided that the most intelligent thing to do would be to ignore them. No use wasting time while trying to piece together annoying emotions that he couldn't even understand.

He was so lost in his confusing thoughts that he failed to notice as his grip tightened around his racket, turning the knuckles of his left hand white.

* * *

It was a very sublime day; bright and warm with rich clouds and a lulling breeze that sent sakura blossoms rolling in small tornadoes. It was a very sublime day indeed, perfect for napping in the shade. Since there wasn't any club practice after school that day, and in loathe of heading for home so soon, Ryoma decided to do just that. He walked a little ways down the trail leading to the tennis courts and chose a quiet spot off of the path underneath one of the large sakura trees. Carefully, he set his racket bag onto the grass, his body following and stretching out completely next to it. It wasn't long before he was soon fast asleep, with drool and all, and his left hand tucked under his right cheek.

The young tennis regular usually had the innate ability to be able to sleep comfortably nearly anywhere. That day was no exception. In fact, Ryoma was able to sleep _so_ comfortably that he failed to hear the soft shuffling sound of footsteps approaching through the grass or the sound of a bag being gently set upon the ground or the body that decided to position itself only a few feet of distance directly in front of Ryoma's. For reasons obvious, he also failed to see that same body crawling closer to his own.

It was nearly thirty minutes later when Ryoma finally began to stir. He frowned, groaning softly as he slowly regained consciousness. He arched his back and raised his arms above his head only to halt abruptly in mid-stretch when a prickling sensation swept over his face. Ryoma's eyes shot open and widened in shock at the sight of his hovering senpai's sharp blue orbs only a couple of inches above his own. The two stayed in that position for several heartbeats before Ryoma's sleep-fogged mind began to clear up enough for him to raise his hands to his senpai's chest to push him away. Fuji fell gracefully onto his knees and continued to look at Ryoma. The younger boy, who was suddenly very wide awake, sat up and scooted away from Fuji until his back was pressed up against the tree. Despite the blank expression that Ryoma's face held, Fuji knew that the younger boy was very uncomfortable with his presence. He smiled in amusement.

"Ah Echizen, I've been looking for you." That same, unfamiliar emotion that Ryoma had been feeling more and more lately, passed through him causing heat to rise in his cheeks. He was slightly horrified at the realization that his face was beginning to flush. Ryoma glanced away, therefore missing the smirk that was slowly spreading across Fuji's face.

"What do you want Fuji-senpai?"

Fuji chuckled. "Forgive me, but do you understand what you are asking Echizen?"

Ryoma didn't know how to answer that. For starters, he didn't have a clue as to what the hell his senpai was talking about. At that moment, all that was registering through the young boy's mind was one word: annoying. Although most people would describe him as being oblivious, which might actually be very true depending on the subject matter, it didn't change the fact that lately the freshman had been experiencing some rather strange feelings that were leaving him very confused and very frustrated. Not to mention a little bit ill when one considered the odd swishy sensations in his stomach and head. The closest thing he could compare it with was the flu. In truth, Ryoma would have thought just that if it weren't for the fact that the only time he was actually experiencing these uncomfortable symptoms was whenever a certain blue-eyed tennis genius was nearby. That much, he had been able to figure out; although this resulted in baffling the poor freshman even more than before. He did _not_ want to lose to this…this…_flu_. And to look at the situation from a purely Inui standpoint, the best solution to fix his current problem would be to avoid his senpai because clearly, from another Inui standpoint, Fuji equaled the flu. With new determination, Ryoma turned to face the older boy.

"Fuji-senpai, please stop harassing me." There…he had said it. Now all that was left was for his senpai to nod his head in agreement and smile.

Except that the tennis genius wasn't smiling. And he didn't exactly look very happy at the freshman's request.

In fact, Fuji's piercing blue gaze was currently burning another hole through Ryoma who was busy holding his breath while minutes of silence ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace. Ryoma was growing increasingly uncomfortable in the prolonged quiet and found himself wishing that the light-haired boy would respond. Fuji's staring only accomplished in irritating him further.

"I can't do that Echizen. Not until you're mine…"

Large golden eyes studied the tennis genius with a blank expression. They blinked once, twice, and then...

"…**_Huh_**?"


	2. Chapter

**Two**

Ryoma struggled for breath as he fought against the unpleasant burning sensation in his lungs. Getting into position, he bent his knees and focused his concentration on the ball and Momo, who was currently busy looking at him with a slightly incredulous expression.

"Again."

Momo's mouth fell open. "Hey, hey, Echizen! Don't you think it's about time to stop now? You've already smashed it a billion times."

"Again," Ryoma repeated, ignoring the older boy's advice.

Momo frowned at Ryoma's stubbornness and proceeded to lob the ball in preparation for yet another smash. Even though the freshman was clearly exhausted and sweating puddles all over the court, he continued to race forward with alarmingly clear eyes.

Pant, pant, pant, pant, pant…**THWACK!**

Ryoma landed on his feet with his right arm curved in front of him and his left angled to the side.

"Again."

"Echizen –"

"Again," Ryoma interrupted, raising his head to meet Momo's bewildered eyes with a challenge in his own.

Momo sighed and prepared to serve yet another lob, all the while acutely aware of the attention that they were beginning to attract from a few of the other club members. Their captain, whose stoic expression remained intact, was even watching them from his spot next to Ryuzaki-sensei.

Pant, pant, pant, pant, pant…**THWACK!**

"Again."

Pant, pant, pant, pant, pant…**THWACK!**

"Again."

Fifteen minutes later, Ryoma finally straightened his stance, allowing both arms to fall to his sides and his head to lower leaving the upper part of his face to be shaded by his cap. His chest and shoulders were rapidly rising and falling while sweat streamed down his face and collected in the dips of his collarbone. Hoping that the freshman had finally had his fill of lobs and smashes for the day, Momo didn't dare say a word.

"Again."

"Something's not right," Momo murmured, "Something's not right."

"Hey…Echizen…," the junior began hesitantly, "Practice is almost over and I'm dead tired. I think it's about time to qui–"

"Again."

The spiky-haired boy was finally losing his patience. "Hey, Echizen! Are you even listening to me! I said that it's about time to quit!"

"Again."

"Bastard," Momo grumbled.

Instead of lobbing another ball to the younger boy, Momo decided to return a smash for a smash – _anything_ to get the other to finally quit. "_Argh_," he grunted as he sent the ball sailing powerfully to the other side of the court.

"There, that should get my point across," he muttered with satisfaction.

**THWACK!**

Before the junior had a chance to react, the ball suddenly returned at what seemed an impossible speed. He watched in wide-eyed disbelief as a flash of yellow raced on by, hitting the fence behind him with a loud cling. Somewhat subdued, Momo was unable to say anything as he regarded his young opponent who was currently crouched in a ready stance. Their eyes clashed over the net; one set concerned while the other determined.

"…Hey…Echizen…" Momo began slowly, his voice trailing off.

Ryoma remained where he was for another minute, allowing the waning adrenaline in his small body to calm down. Despite the fact that several of the other club members were currently watching them, he was only aware of the now familiar sensation of a light-haired tennis genius curiously studying him. And he flat out _refused_ to look in the direction of _that_ one. He sighed when he could no longer hear the rushing blood in his ears. Finally relaxing his stance, Ryoma stood and turned away from the other boy across the net.

"Che." He pulled the bill of his cap low. Momo, who had been frozen, watched as the freshman walk off the court. He blinked a couple of times before suddenly coming to life.

"H-hey! Echizen!" he called out. The younger boy ignored him. "Hey! Come back here! What the hell was that! This is a _rally_ for God's sake, what's with the two-handed backhand!" Momo yelled to Ryoma's retreating form.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma replied faintly.

"M – _mada mada_…? Don't tell me that, you brat! You could at least be _thankful_ once in a while! Hey get back here! Captain, make this bastard run laps!"

Oblivious to all, but one, around him, Ryoma's feet rapidly ate up the ground as he made his way through the gates.

"Echizen."

Ryoma stopped at the sound of the soft voice. Still refusing to look at this particular senpai, he waited, unwilling to answer the light-haired boy as his eyes focused ahead. He remained stubbornly silent for a few heartbeats before walking away.

"Water break," he mumbled over his shoulder.

It was near dusk. Dinner was over, along with pitifully easy homework which Ryoma had completed in under twenty minutes. He had thought about challenging his old man to another match, but decided that he wasn't in the mood for any of the stupid ex-pro's perverted childish antics, and instead opted to hole up in his room for the night. Karupin mewled softly as he walked into the dim room and jumped up onto the foot of Ryoma's bed. He pawed gently at the boy's leg before curling down beside him. The young tennis player reached down to absently stroke the top of the cat's head, his other arm tucked behind his pillow as he laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. He was so lost in thought that he failed to notice when the Himalayan began to purr, something which he usually found comforting.

"_Fuji-senpai, please leave me alone." _

"_I can't do that Echizen. Not until you're mine…"_

"…_**Huh**?_

_Ryoma, with breath caught in his throat, stared in wide-eyed shock at the older boy who simply gazed back. Wind rustling the tree leaves barely disturbed the dreadful silence. Finally, the other boy let his eyes close and a grin spread across his face. _

_Fuji chuckled. Ryoma blinked in confusion as he watched his senpai's chuckling slowly turn into full blown laughter. After several minutes of watching the older boy's obvious mirth, it finally dawned on Ryoma: he had been tricked. Against his will, he could feel the growing warmth begin in his cheeks. _

"_Che…idiot senpai," he muttered, glaring at the light-haired tennis genius whose laughter had calmed to a soft giggle which he hid behind a slender hand. Ryoma turned his head to hide his embarrassment. For reasons unknown to him, he suddenly didn't feel so good. His stomach felt heavy and his chest was starting to hurt. It was somewhat disturbing to realize that this feeling was very similar to how he felt whenever his stupid old man beat him in a match. If Ryoma didn't know any better, he would have thought that this feeling was somehow connected to the current situation. He tried to sulk away the unwanted emotion. _

"_Echizen." Ryoma turned to face glaring eyes at Fuji. The light-haired boy met him with an apologetic look…which would have been fine if it weren't for that damned annoying little smile plastered on his face. But then again, because of that annoying smile, Ryoma was able to focus on something other than the sick feeling in his gut. In fact, only a couple of minutes later, he began to feel like his normal, bored self again. Maybe that stupid smile wasn't so bad after all._

"_Forgive me. I just couldn't help myself." _

_Ryoma wordlessly glowered for a bit longer before standing up to brush himself off. He could feel Fuji watching him from his sitting position as he bent down to retrieve his racket bag. He slung the bag over his left shoulder._

"_Fine. Whatever," the freshman threw over his shoulder. He started to walk away, only to be brought up short by Fuji's next comment._

"_That is unless…" he began softly, the sentence slowly dying on his lips. Ryoma turned._

"_What?" he asked. In spite of himself, and although he was a little afraid of the reply, Ryoma was curious. Fuji was currently busy looking at the trunk of the tree rather than at Ryoma, which was strange considering the amount of staring that the older boy had been participating in lately._

"_Did you have fun during our match?"_

_Ryoma blinked. That was not what he had been expecting. "What?"_

"_When we played on the court. The practice match. Did you have fun?" With opened eyes, Fuji raised his head toward Ryoma. The younger boy returned the gaze with a somewhat confused, somewhat impatient look of his own. _

_He shrugged. "Sure. Whatever."_

"_Ah…that's good." _

_Ryoma studied the cryptic smile on the tennis genius' face a bit longer before walking away. _

_He was feeling a little sick again._

"Hey, boy!"

Startled out of his thoughts, Ryoma jumped a little at the interruption, accidentally sending Karupin to the floor. After expelling a breath of relief when he saw the cat fall on all fours, he turned to glare at the intruder.

"What do you want?"

Seeing that he had frazzled his son a bit, Nanjiroh grinned.

"My, my, my, did I interrupt something…_private_?" he leered. Ryoma closed his eyes in annoyance.

"Stupid old man," he muttered, "What did you want?"

"Now is that any way to talk to your loving father who came all the way up here to tell you that you had a visitor?" Nanjiroh asked with feigned innocence.

Ryoma closed his eyes again and snorted. Wait! Did he say visitor?

"Don't be too loud, boy," Nanjiroh called out before leaving. Faint whistling could be heard as he walked down the hallway.

What visitor? Ryoma wondered. He flopped back onto his bed to stare up at the ceiling again. Probably Momo-senpai came by to see if I'm alright-

"Hello Echizen."

Ryoma flinched at the familiar voice and turned sharply to the doorway. There stood the light-haired tennis genius, annoying smile and all. He slowly made his way into the room.

"You seemed as if you didn't feel well at practice today. Since we really didn't get a chance to talk, I thought I'd stop by to see how you were." Fuji's blue eyes were open and trained upon Ryoma with a deceptively unreadable glint as he set his racket bag onto Ryoma's bedroom floor with an ominous thud.


	3. Chapter

**Three**

Ridiculous.

It was the only word circulating through Ryoma's brain.

It was ridiculous. The situation was ridiculous. Fuji was ridiculous. And why in the hell was he sitting on the floor in front of his small study table, busy pretending to complete English homework that had already been completed over an hour ago? The only excuse that Ryoma was able to come up with was that _he_ was ridiculous. To be affected by his senpai, who was currently sitting cross-legged on his bedroom floor while playing with Karupin, was terribly disturbing. But, not quite as disturbing as his inability to figure out _why_ he felt affected in the first place. This, alone, frustrated him. Because Echizen Ryoma was a person who loved a challenge…on the tennis court that is. He loved the idea of confronting an obstacle that required careful observation and effort in order to advance – on the tennis court. But this…this was frustrating.

"Why are you still here Fuji-senpai?" Ryoma asked while staring at the pages in front of him.

Fuji paused in his play to cock his head in the younger boy's direction.

"To make sure that you're feeling better."

Ryoma felt a twinge of annoyance. "I'm fine. You can go back to your own home now." Fuji didn't respond. Still staring at his book, Ryoma could hear the older boy resume his play with Karupin. Frowning, Ryoma wondered how he was going to get the tennis genius to leave.

"My, that must be a difficult problem."

The peaceful voice startled Ryoma from his thoughts. He looked over toward its source to find the light-haired senpai watching him curiously.

"What?"

"Your homework," Fuji nodded his head toward the opened English book lying in front of Ryoma, "it must be a difficult problem."

Ryoma blinked.

"If you need some help figuring it all out, I'd be happy to assist you."

Ryoma tensed involuntarily. Although the offer _seemed_ harmless enough, the younger boy eyed Fuji warily.

"No. I'm fine."

Fuji smiled.

"Ah...that's too bad." His murmur succeeded in setting the freshman's nerves on edge. Fuji stood and slowly walked over to him.

"But maybe I could help you finish it at a quicker pace." His blue eyes were gleaming as he sat down next to Ryoma.

"Eh, Fuji-senpai, I don't need any help."

"Now Echizen, don't be so stubborn."

"I said that I didn't need any help."

With a narrowed gaze, Fuji studied the irritable freshman for a moment, before his face finally relaxed to its usual passivity.

"Hmm…well if you change your mind, you know where to find me," he relented, smiling sweetly.

Ryoma almost groaned in frustration. Idiot… Of course he knew where to find Fuji. The tennis genius was sitting close enough so that their sides were nearly touching. He quickly went back to pretending to slave away over already finished homework, all the while hating himself for being so affected by the other boy, that he was forced to do so. Several minutes passed by with one boy scanning page fifty-four of an English book for what was probably the fifteenth time, while the other looked on with an extremely content expression.

"Ryoma, you've been reading that same page for quite some time now. Are you sure that you don't need any he-"

"Yes!" the dark-haired boy snapped, cutting Fuji off before he could finish. He turned to page fifty-five and the two continued their façade…that is until Fuji decided to scoot closer to the younger boy until he was brushed up against him. Feeling uncomfortable with the older boy's presence, he turned from his book to glare at the tennis genius whose face remained complacent.

"Do you need to sit so close?" Ryoma grumbled. Fuji smiled in amusement.

"Ah, forgive me. I'm just curious to see what it is you're working on." He then leaned over to take a look at the book until his side was completely pressed up against Ryoma's. Ryoma was beginning to feel a little…strange. For the third time, in the past two days, the younger boy wondered if he was coming down with something.

"Hmm…English…I'm confused Echizen. Didn't you live most of your life in America?"

"…So?"

"Sooo…shouldn't this subject be much easier for you to complete?"

"…"

"I would have expected someone to have been brought up in America to have finished this assignment hours ago."

"…"

"Ah…But maybe there is another reason for what is slowing you down?"

"…"

"If so, what could it possibly be?"

"…"

"Am I distracting you, Echizen?"

Gritting his teeth, Ryoma shut the book abruptly.

"I'm done now Fuji-senpai. You can go home," he said coldly while his eyes remained glued to the small table in front of him.

Fuji's mild smile turned mischievous.

"My Echizen, how odd. Are you sure that you have finished all of your assignment, or could it be that…" Blue eyes parted.

"You had already completed it before I came over."

Ryoma didn't respond. It was enough to keep from flinching beneath the sharp gaze. He glowered instead.

"Ah, so that's it," Fuji chuckled. "Now Echizen, why, might I ask, were you pretending to do your homework when it was already finished?"

Long silence ensued. Despite his composed features, Ryoma was boiling on the inside. He was afraid to open his mouth for fear that he would start yelling. He also knew that if he were to begin yelling, that this would egg Fuji on further. Despite his rather dim nature outside of tennis, even _he_ could at least understand that an egged on Fuji would most likely result in a temper tantrum on Ryoma's part. He pictured himself pounding his fists on the floor while Fuji looked on with a small patronizing grin. Just as he was about to grimace at the unwanted image, his thoughts were interrupted by the feel of something touching his hair.

"What are you doing?" Ryoma asked, not bothering to look over at Fuji.

"Am I doing something?" Fuji asked with feigned innocence. Ryoma felt 'it' touch his hair again.

"Stop that," he muttered.

"Stop what?"

Touch.

With his left eyebrow twitching, Ryoma said in a very controlled voice: "Stop – touching – my – hair."

Silence.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Echizen."

Ryoma closed his eyes. It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

He couldn't say that he was surprised to see Fuji waiting for him, the next day, outside of his classroom. The genius smiled, Ryoma nodded in response…and then walked away…only to have the light-haired boy follow him.

In light of the past few days, Ryoma had come to the conclusion that Fuji wasn't going to disappear. Although quite similar, he realized that Fuji was not a fruit fly that could be squashed when one was impatient. And since he had pretty much run out of options, Ryoma could only use his last resort: ignore Fuji. He walked quickly to his next class, his shoes making a scuffing sound with each step.

"Echizen," Fuji called out. Ryoma ignored him.

Scuff, scuff, scuff.

"Echizen."

Scuff, scuff, scuff.

"Now, now…if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were trying to ignore me."

If it had been anyone other than Ryoma, Fuji's statement would have been swallowed in the noisy hall. As it was, Ryoma had heard and paused at the suddenly soft tone in Fuji's voice. He remained rooted, trying unsuccessfully to barricade the twinge in his nerves and unwilling to look behind him as he waited for the older boy to continue. They stood there as bustling students walked around them to find their classrooms. Soon, the halls were vacated.

"Well then, I'll leave you alone…for now." Ryoma heard the tennis genius' footsteps echo through the hall as he walked away.

* * *

Momo glanced back and forth between a scowling Ryoma and a cheerful Fuji who was currently seated next to the sulking freshman.

"Um…Fuji-senpai…can I ask you something?"

Fuji broke away from staring at Ryoma to flash the spiky-haired boy a kind smile. "Of course Momo, what is it?"

Momo began hesitantly, "Um…well…" his voice died away, uncertain. Fuji patiently waited.

"W-well you see…it's just that… Don't you think it's kind of strange for you to be sitting with us at lunch?" Momo finished in one breath.

"Oh?" Fuji lifted his eyebrows.

Not wanting to offend his senpai, Momo hurriedly explained, "It's just that – not that I mind or anything, it's just that you hardly ever eat lunch with us and lately, just this past week, you've been sitting with Echizen and me everyday."

Silence.

"Ah, is that so?"

"Mm-hm," Momo nodded quickly, relieved at not upsetting the tennis genius.

"Hmmm."

Momo waited.

"Well, that can't possibly be all, now could it Momo?" Momo looked slightly embarrassed.

"I guess I'm just curious. Why the sudden change, Fuji-senpai?"

"Ah…" Fuji looked thoughtfully over at Ryoma who was busy trying to ignore his senpais by stuffing his face full of rice.

* * *

It was during tennis practice, or rather during stretching to be more precise, when he finally began to realize that he was missing something. It was right there, dangling, most likely laughing at his inept ability to decipher what was probably an easy concept for ninety-nine percent of the world to understand, which left Ryoma to wallow pitifully in the remaining percentage.

For the first time in his young life, he hated being number one.

"How about I help you with stretches today, Echizen?" Fuji suggested pleasantly. Painfully aware that most of the tennis members were currently watching the interaction between the two, Ryoma nodded reluctantly after deciding that to decline would only create questions. He had a pretty good idea of the source from where their curiosity had stemmed from in the first place. Silently, he vowed to thoroughly crush Momo during the next match that the two played.

"Ah, now stretch," Fuji said while placing his hands high on the younger boy's back. Ryoma flinched at their warmth. He tried to ignore the way it seeped through to his skin and melted into his bones. He tried to focus on reaching for his toes. He quickly tried to think of things that annoyed him: his old man, losing in tennis, Horio and his damned two years of tennis experience, the tennis genius' patronizing smile…_anything_ but the feel of Fuji's hands.

Too late.

Ryoma was grateful that his head was tucked against his knees so that his senpai couldn't see his flushing face.

* * *

Ryoma couldn't shake the afternoon's events from his head. Although the stretching encounter had been brief, he felt more than a bit shaken by his lack of control on his emotions. Instead of playing with aggressive intensity in order to cleanse his thoughts, his tennis couldn't have been worse. Smashes went wide landing out of bounds, Twist Serves turned into slices, and he had dropped his racket on more than one occasion when attempting to switch hands during play. His mood was darker than usual and his usually cool composure was rapidly breaking apart. It didn't help that the reason for all of his recent troubles had decided to walk him home that day, which, unexpectedly hadn't surprised Momo who had been ready to give the younger boy a ride on the back of his bike.

"My, Echizen, you seem…troubled." Ryoma closed his eyes and scowled.

"You know Echizen, it isn't healthy to keep things bottled up inside."

"…"

"Ah, and now it seems that you have reverted back to ignoring me again."

Ryoma wondered if Fuji had always been such a talkative person. Had he just not noticed it before? He had always viewed the light-haired boy to be one of few words, and those words that he did choose to speak were always calm and kept to short fragmented sentences. The calm part still remained, but as to the other…the tennis genius was beginning to somewhat resemble a more mellow version of Kikumaru-senpai. While immersed in his rambling thoughts, the two boys soon arrived at their destination.

"Well Echizen, this is where I leave you." Ryoma stared at the front gates leading to his house.

"Fuji-senpai, why are you doing this?" he asked. Fuji, hearing the other boy's frank tone, was quiet for a moment.

"Would you like the truth?" Ryoma nodded.

"Is it because you want to finish our match?" He frowned at the sound of his senpai's soft laughter.

"Ahh…that's so like you to think along those lines, Echizen," Fuji chuckled. Ryoma's frown turned to the scowl that had been gracing his face throughout most of the day.

"Che," he muttered and turned to leave.

"Wait, Echizen." Ryoma waited. He could feel Fuji's presence, the way it moved closer to Ryoma until it was practically touching him. He stood frozen to the pavement, unable to move to what would undoubtedly be a safer distance.

"Look at me please." Ryoma looked up to see the kind smile on the older boy's face and something small flared inside of him. What felt like subtle fuzz warmed Ryoma's insides.

Fuji raised his right hand and gently brushed it against the younger boy's forehead, smoothing the black green-tinted bangs from his face. The fuzz grew stronger. He looked away.

He was sick. He had to be. He desperately tried to hold onto the excuse. This would have been effective if it weren't for the fact that whatever he was feeling wasn't exactly altogether…unpleasant. He knew this. He was Echizen Ryoma, boy genius, _tennis_ wonder, and he knew this.

"Ill see you tomorrow, Echizen." Ryoma didn't bother to watch the older boy leave. He _couldn't_ watch the older boy leave. It was quiet and nearly non-existent, but it was there. And it was slowly gaining as each encounter passed. He still couldn't quite grasp what exactly was happening to him, but at least he was finally able to understand that whatever was happening, was happening against his will and that it would continue to grow whether he liked it or not.

_Mada mada dane._


End file.
